THE US CONGRESSMAN at the centre of the ‘sexting’ controversy has entered a psychological treatment centre as his party leadership sought his resignation yesterday.

Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner from New York has hit the headlines in the past fortnight after it emerged that he had send lewd pictures of himself to a number of women via Facebook and Twitter.

In a tearful press conference last Monday, he admitted to actions he had first denied claiming his Twitter account had been hacked when he inadvertently posted a picture of his covered genitals on Twitter, a message he had intended to send privately.

Having refused to resign, Weiner has continued to weather the storm of controversy including the emergence of evidence that he exchanged Twitter messages with a 17-year-old girl although he denied the messages were explicit.

However, yesterday the House Democratic leader and former speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated that she felt Weiner should resign as did others within the party congressional leadership, reports the New York Times.

It was also announced that the one-time hot favourite to be the next New York mayor was seeking “professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person,” according to a statement from his spokeswoman which continued:

In light of this, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well.

It is thought that Weiner will wait until his wife Huma Abedin, a close confidante of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, returns from diplomatic trip to Africa before making a decision on his political future.

The couple have already had to contend with news that Abedin is pregnant which was reported by the New York Times on Wednesday.

Lurid tales from Weiner’s communication with a number of women through social networks continue to emerge with the US tabloid media slamming the 46-year-old. The New York Post labels him as “sexting horndog” in its latest story.